Culver Academy's Alex Banfich and LaPorte's Mike Fout enter their senior seasons with a chance to become the best distance runners in Indiana history. Tribune File Photos

TIM CREASON
Tribune Correspondent

Mike Fout says he never really thought about it until he heard the question.

Just how fast is he, anyway?

"I don't know," LaPorte High School's senior cross country and track star said after a thoughtful silence. "Every day, I go out and just try to be the best I can."

Sounds like Fout has been talking to Alex Banfich.

That's pretty much the same answer Indiana's reigning prep distance queen, a senior at Culver Girls Academy, gave when she was asked what she hoped to accomplish in her final year.

State championships? Already won 'em. State records? Getting closer all the time.

With cross country season set to begin this week, Fout and Banfich are favored to win the IHSAA boys and girls state titles on Oct. 27.

But as they draw closer to some amazing athletic milestones, some folks are starting to wonder: Could these be the best high school distance runners Indiana has ever seen?

The question before us

So who was a better basketball player, Michael Jordan or Wilt Chamberlain?

No way to answer that. Different eras, different positions.

Yet, there's no end to fans with an opinion.

It's the same story among Indiana's running community. There are all sorts of folks ready to argue about what makes a high school athlete "the best."

Among boys, the icon for Hoosier distance running has long been Hammond's Rudy Chapa. He dominated high school races in the mid-1970s, winning a pair of individual state cross country titles and setting state records in both the mile and two-mile runs on the track.

Girls don't have such a clear-cut leader, but there are two names generally mentioned when the subject of "best" comes up: Kankakee Valley's Celeste Susnis, who won seven cross country and track state titles from 1986-89, and Indianapolis Brebeuf's Courtney Adams, also a seven-time state champ from 1992-95.

Some old-timers get almost irate when it's suggested that a Fout or Banfich -- or anyone else, for that matter -- might be in the same league as a Chapa or Susnis. It's as if they believe those earlier runners set a standard that could never be touched.

And yet ... why not?

• Fact: If Banfich does the same thing this year that she did as a junior -- win the individual state championship in cross country and two state titles in track -- she will finish her high school career with eight state championships, more than any previous Indiana high school distance runner, boy or girl. Ever.
  
  
• Fact: If Fout improves his times as much this year as he did from his sophomore to junior seasons, he could shatter one of Indiana's most revered state track records, Chapa's 8:55.1 in the 3200-meter run, set in 1975.

It's not a pipe dream. Fout clocked 9:03.49 in winning the Indiana 3200-meter championship last June, the fifth-fastest time in state track meet history. Then, at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina, Fout clocked 8:55.67 for 3200 meters, proving he most certainly has a shot.

If he would tack a state cross country championship onto his list of accomplishments, what more could anybody ask?

Criteria

So, what matters most in determining distance greatness? Times? Records? Titles won?

Depends on whom you ask.

"You can't deny the clock," says veteran New Prairie coach Doug Snyder, who coached a pair of state champs in Carol Gray (1984-85) and Amanda VanWanzeele (2000).

"A track is a track and in the end, everybody is running for time," Snyder said. "I think Mike Fout's motivation this year should be to smash Chapa's records. It's harder to break a state record than it is to win a state title.

"If he would win the state cross country meet with a real fast time, and then break Rudy's record in track, I think then you could say he ranks as one of the all-time greats."

Culver Academies coach Mike Chastain, entering his 34th season, views things a little differently.

"If you can be dominant over a long period of time, I think that's an important thing," he said. "It's difficult to repeat as a state champ. There's tremendous pressure on you and people just expect you to win every time you set foot on the track. The fact that Alex (Banfich) has been able to stay successful for so long says a lot about her.

"A runner doesn't just win two or three state titles. You have to be something special to do that."

Brett Hess, spokesman for the Indiana Association of Track & Cross Country Coaches, has a third view.

"I think part of the equation should be how a runner competes on the national stage," said Hess. "The talent level in our state ebbs and flows. Sometimes you have to think, the kid won a state title but whom did (he or she) beat? At a Foot Locker national or Nike Outdoor national meet, the talent level will always be high."

It should be noted that Banfich and Fout each have competed in national meets, and both have finished among the nation's Top 20 in their races.

The runners?

One thing for sure ... Banfich and Fout won't walk around claiming to rank among the state's best ever. If anything, they are embarrassed at the suggestion.

But statistics don't lie.

Banfich, from Plymouth, has lost only four races in her high school career, in cross country and track combined. Three of those were at the state finals her freshman and sophomore seasons.

Besides five gold medals, Banfich also has one state runner-up award, two thirds and a fourth in her collection. She has never lost a regular-season track race. With her senior year to go, Banfich already owns the eighth-fastest girls 3200 time in Indiana history (10:36.47). She has a legitimate shot to break the state meet record (10:24.29) next spring.

But first, there is the business of another cross country title. Since Indiana girls will run 5,000 meters for the first time, this year's state champ will automatically become the new course record holder

"I'm fortunate to be a small-town girl who landed on a great team with great coaches," said Banfich, who was voted the girls Senior Prefect (senior leader) by the student body at Culver. "I've never run a perfect race. Maybe when I do, some of those records will come. But as long as I feel like I've done my best, I'm happy."

If not for injuries, Fout might have another state title or two under his belt. He was a good bet to win the cross country championship last year before an injury ended his season. That's part of the game, of course, and the Slicer leader doesn't dwell on it.

After clocking 9:21.32 to place seventh in the state track 3200-meter run as a sophomore, Fout improved by 18 seconds to win the state title as a junior. And he did it despite running half the season on a stress fracture.

"I think people have to remember that Mike won last spring while only training 35 miles a week on a (broken foot)," says LaPorte coach Tim Beres. "Who knows what he can do if he stays injury-free? I don't think anybody has seen the full extent of his talent, yet."

Fout is keeping his successes in perspective.

"Rudy Chapa is the standard. I'm not claiming to be another Rudy Chapa," says Fout. "But obviously I'd like to have a name that people remember.

"Do I want to break (Chapa's) records? Absolutely. On a perfect day, do I think I could run 8:40 in a 3200? Yeah, I hope I can. I'd like to set the standard that runners will be chasing in the future. Instead of being another Chapa, I'd like to be the first Mike Fout."

Neither Banfich nor Fout know how high they can climb. But maybe that's not the real question. Maybe it should be, how high can they reach?